Using Keyboard Shortcuts Like A Pro — Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac to Make You More Productive
This post will talk a bit about thinking like a developer before diving into a collection of some common keyboard shortcuts.
Philosophy (feel free to skip this part)
Part of being a developer is always looking for optimizations, ways to make things more efficient. This is obviously true of the code that you write, but it’s similarly true to the actual writing of the code itself! Keyboard shortcuts are a way of optimizing the process of writing code. While there are occasionally things that require a mouse, many of the tiny interactions that you have with your computer can be sped up by using keyboard shortcuts. If your fingers are already on the home row, you slow yourself down by moving your hand to your mouse. I regularly ask myself, “is there a way I can accomplish this task without using my mouse?”
One of the great things about keyboard shortcuts on the Mac is that many of them are universal across apps. Certainly all first-party Mac apps follow the same conventions for shortcuts, and most good third-party apps do as well. So if you find a keyboard shortcut that works in one app, make sure to try it elsewhere. Furthermore, as you become more comfortable using shortcuts you become better at guessing what a shortcut is likely to be. Finally, if you don’t know what the shortcuts are, look them up! Here’s the first shortcut:
- Command+Shift+/: opens up the help menu. Try it now!
Show me the Shortcuts!
First off, let’s talk about modifier keys on the Mac. Getting familiar with these keys, and the symbols associated with them, is super important for transition from using your mouse all the time (slow) to getting things done without moving your hands from the keyboard. Make sure you know this list, and thankfully the symbols.
- command (or Cmd) ⌘
- shift ⇧
- option (or Alt) ⌥
- control (or Ctrl) ⌃
- caps Lock ⇪
- fn
Basic Mac Shortcuts:
- Command-X: Cut the selected item and copy it to the Clipboard
- Command-C: Copy the selected item to the Clipboard. This also works for files in the Finder
- Command-V: Paste the contents of the Clipboard into the current document or app. This also works for files in the Finder
- Command-Z: Undo the previous command.
- Shift-Command-Z: Redo, reversing the undo command. In some apps, you can undo and redo multiple commands
- Command-A: Select All items
- Command-F: Find items in a document or open a Find window
If you ever forget or want to change global Mac shortcuts, you can always open up System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Shortcuts.
Mac Text Navigation/Selection Shortcuts:
- Command-Left Arrow: Jump to beginning of a line
- Command-Right Arrow: Jump to end of a line
- Option-Right Arrow: Jump to beginning of current word
- Option-Right Arrow: Jump to end of current word
- Command-Up Arrow: Jump to beginning of all text
- Command-Down Arrow: Jump to end of all text
Extra pro-tip: adding Shift to any of the above commands allows you to also select the text!
These shortcuts are extremely helpful for jumping around in your code editor. Some code editors also have shortcuts that let you navigate between words within camelCase.
Navigating Apps/Tabs:
- Command–Tab: Switch between applications
- Command–~: Switch between windows of an application
- Command–Shift–] or Control–Tab: Move forward through tabs (in same window)
- Command–Shift–[ or Control–Shift–Tab: Move backward through tabs (in same window)
These are some of the most important/under-utilized time-saving shortcuts IMO!
Advanced Mac Shortcuts:
- Command–Space bar: Show or hide the Spotlight search field
- Control–Command–Space bar: Show the Character Viewer, from which you can choose emoji and other symbols
- Control-Command-F: Use the app in full screen, if supported by the app
- Space bar: Use Quick Look to preview the selected item
- Command-Tab: Switch to the next most recently used app among your open apps
- Shift-Command-5: Take a screenshot or make a screen recording. Or use Shift-Command-3 or Shift-Command-4 for screenshots. Learn more about screenshots.
Resources:
